Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), of removing some of its nominated candidates from the commission’s list and replacing them with names allegedly unknown to the party.

The National Chairman of the party, Senator Moses Cleopas Zuwoghe, made the allegation in a statement on Sunday, following INEC’s publication of candidates for the 2027 State Houses of Assembly elections.

Cleopas said the names published by INEC, particularly in Anambra State, suggested an attempt to undermine the party ahead of the elections and create disaffection among its supporters.

The NDC chairman specifically alleged that nine persons whose names were not authorised or submitted by the party had been listed as its candidates in various constituencies in Anambra State, the home state of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

He called on the INEC Chairman to immediately investigate the development and determine how the names got onto the commission’s list.

Cleopas also urged INEC to extend the investigation to other states, including Benue and Imo, where he said the party had observed a similar pattern.

According to him, the development had embarrassed the party, its leadership and its genuine candidates, while creating disaffection among its supporters in Nigeria and the diaspora.

“We, as a party, are also carrying out our own independent investigation, the preliminary findings of which are already pointing to the complicity of INEC officials in foisting names purporting to be our candidates, but who are not from us,” he alleged.

He said the party’s investigation indicated that the uploading process was being used to intimidate and embarrass the NDC.

The party listed the following persons as names allegedly published by INEC as its candidates in Anambra: Onitsha South 1 — Umennaajiego Jude Ezenwa, Onitsha South 2 — Akpotue Obinna Chibuike, Orumba North — Nwankwo Chiemerie, Anaocha 1 — Maduagwu Eric K, Idemili North — Ngoebisi Obinna, Njikoka 1 — Isintume Charles, Nnewi South — Nwachukwu Nonso, Nnewi South 2 — Okeke Ifeanyi Akunne, Ayamelum — Nnonyelu Samson E and Dunukofia — Azotani Chuks Francis

Cleopas, however, said the party was particularly concerned about the process through which the names were uploaded and published.

He said after the conclusion of the party’s primaries and appeal process, stakeholders from Anambra, the party leadership, representatives of Obi and the appeals panel agreed on a final list of candidates.

According to him, the list was signed off by the relevant stakeholders before being uploaded to the INEC portal using the code provided to the party by the electoral commission.

He alleged that INEC officials subsequently kept nine of the names on “Pending” status, claiming that the names were already in the commission’s system based on submissions by officials who monitored the party’s primaries.

Cleopas said the NDC formally challenged the names and submitted the identities of candidates it said were legitimately nominated by the party, but INEC allegedly declined to replace the disputed names.

He further alleged that INEC subsequently collected Form EC-9 directly from the persons whose names were in dispute and uploaded the forms without going through the party.

“To further confirm that there was a predetermined effort on the part of INEC to impose the said nine candidates on the party, and embarrass both NDC and Mr. Peter Obi, INEC went behind the NDC to collect the Form EC-9 directly from the candidates, bypassing the party, and uploading same,” he alleged.

Cleopas argued that where there was a discrepancy between names submitted by a political party and information received by INEC from its monitoring teams, the commission should have left the affected positions vacant pending clarification, rather than publish names the party said it did not nominate.

“At the very worst, INEC could have left us with no candidates for those positions, if they knew they were unwilling to engage us in addressing any perceived anomaly,” he said.

The NDC chairman accused INEC of creating a pattern in which opposition parties were allegedly prevented from uploading their preferred candidates while other names were introduced into their candidate lists.

He vowed that the party would pursue the matter through all available legal channels and seek to have what it described as its authentic candidates restored.

“We are moving to approach the court of competent jurisdiction to seek redress and restore our authentic candidates. The general public and our millions of supporters should note that these are not our candidates,” he said.

By Tony Obiechina, Abuja

 Nigeria recorded $947 million in remittance inflows through International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) in July 2026, the highest monthly inflow ever recorded through formal channels and approaching the US$1 billion monthly target set by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Olayemi Cardoso.

IMTO inflows reached $3.

8 billion in the first seven months of 2026 — 50.2 per cent higher than the same period in 2025, pointing to a significant strengthening in flows through formal channels.

The increase follows a series of reforms by the CBN aimed at making formal remittance channels more competitive, transparent and accessible.

These include a move to a more market-determined exchange rate, reforms to the regulatory framework for IMTOs, and the introduction of the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number (NRBVN), alongside closer engagement with IMTOs, banks, and Nigerian diaspora communities. More recently, the CBN has strengthened requirements for remittance transactions to be routed through designated settlement accounts with authorised dealer banks.

The significance extends beyond the headline figure. Increasing diaspora flows through formal channels boosts foreign-exchange liquidity and transparency, supports households and investment, and strengthens Nigeria’s external financing position.“When we set a clear ambition to reach US$1 billion a month in remittance inflows through formal channels nearly two years ago, some people thought we were dreaming. At $947 million in July, we are now approaching that milestone,” Governor Cardoso said.

While individual monthly figures will naturally vary, the CBN’s focus is on the broader trajectory and on sustaining the shift towards formal channels. The significant increase in inflows recorded so far in 2026 points to the growing impact of reforms designed to make formal remittance channels more competitive, accessible and transparent.

The CBN is building on this momentum by deepening engagement with Nigerian diaspora communities and financial-sector partners across key remittance corridors. As part of its wider international engagements, the Bank will continue to use opportunities in major global financial centres to engage diaspora communities, IMTOs, banks and other stakeholders to reduce friction, widen access and bring a greater share of remittance flows into formal channels.

Cardoso added: “July is an important marker, but our focus is not on a single month. It is on creating the conditions for sustained growth in formal remittances. We expect to keep seeing improvement and believe Nigeria can reach and ultimately sustain monthly inflows above US$1 billion.” 

From Attah Ede, Makurdi

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of replacing some of its legitimately nominated candidates for the 2027 general elections with individuals the party says it neither nominated nor authorised.

The allegation followed INEC’s publication on Sunday of candidates for the 2027 State Houses of Assembly elections, with the NDC raising particular concern over entries in Anambra State, the home state of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

In a statement, the party’s National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas Zuwoghe, alleged that nine names published as NDC candidates in various Anambra constituencies were unknown to the party and were not contained in the final list submitted by its leadership.

Zuwoghe called on the INEC Chairman to urgently investigate how the disputed names found their way onto the commission’s published list. He also urged the commission to extend the investigation to Benue, Imo and other states where, according to him, similar discrepancies had been observed.

The NDC chairman said the development had embarrassed the party and its genuine candidates while creating disaffection among supporters in Nigeria and the diaspora.

According to him, preliminary findings from an internal investigation by the party suggested possible complicity by some INEC officials in the alleged substitution of candidates.

“We, as a party, are also carrying out our own independent investigation, the preliminary findings of which are already pointing to the complicity of INEC officials in foisting names purporting to be our candidates, but who are not from us,” he alleged.

The party identified the disputed names published for Anambra State House of Assembly constituencies as Umennaajiego Jude Ezenwa for Onitsha South 1; Akpotue Obinna Chibuike for Onitsha South 2; Nwankwo Chiemerie for Orumba North; Maduagwu Eric K for Anaocha 1; Ngoebisi Obinna for Idemili North; Isintume Charles for Njikoka 1; Nwachukwu Nonso for Nnewi South 1; Okeke Ifeanyi Akunne for Nnewi South 2; Nnonyelu Samson E for Ayamelum; and Azotani Chuks Francis for Dunukofia.

Zuwoghe said the party had followed its internal nomination process after the conclusion of its primaries and appeal proceedings.

He explained that stakeholders from Anambra, the NDC leadership, representatives of Obi and members of the appeals panel had produced and signed off on a final list of candidates before it was uploaded to the INEC portal using credentials supplied by the commission.

The chairman, however, alleged that INEC officials subsequently kept nine entries on “Pending” status, claiming that their system already contained names submitted by officials who monitored the party’s primaries.

He said the NDC challenged the disputed entries and submitted the identities of candidates it considered legitimate, but alleged that the commission did not replace the names in question.

According to him, INEC later collected Form EC-9 directly from the individuals whose candidacies were being disputed and uploaded the forms without going through the party leadership.

“To further confirm that there was a predetermined effort on the part of INEC to impose the said nine candidates on the party, and embarrass both NDC and Mr. Peter Obi, INEC went behind the NDC to collect the Form EC-9 directly from the candidates, bypassing the party, and uploading same,” he alleged.

The NDC chairman argued that where discrepancies existed between a party’s official submission and information obtained by INEC’s monitoring teams, the commission should have suspended the affected entries pending clarification rather than publish candidates the party said it did not nominate.

“At the very worst, INEC could have left us with no candidates for those positions, if they knew they were unwilling to engage us in addressing any perceived anomaly,” he said.

The party alleged that the development formed part of a wider pattern in which opposition parties were allegedly prevented from uploading their preferred candidates while other names were introduced into their candidate lists.

Zuwoghe said the NDC would pursue the matter through the courts and other available legal channels to have what it described as its authentic candidates restored.

“We are moving to approach the court of competent jurisdiction to seek redress and restore our authentic candidates,” he said, urging party supporters to disregard the published individuals as representatives of the NDC.

The allegations have not been independently established in the statement, and the NDC called on INEC to investigate and clarify the circumstances surrounding the disputed candidate entries.